Franchise Opportunities in Albuquerque, NM

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – COVID cases are up in New Mexico and in a rare COVID-19 update on Wednesday, state health officials acknowledged it seems like everyone knows someone in their community who has COVID. But, they said there is some good news on the pandemic front and that this wave isn’t like any of the past.

“Despite the rise in cases and community transmission levels, hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths remain comparatively low,” said Dr. Christine Ross, the state’s epidemiologist. “Clearly, what we’re seeing with this wave is very different than what we’ve seen in the past.”

The state said about 3.5% of those hospitalized with COVID are on ventilators, compared to about 20% in the past.

State health officials said this wave is different due to a number of factors including high herd immunity from vaccinations and natural immunization from infections and re-infections. They also say there are more effective treatments for COVID-19 like Paxlovid and Remdesivir, helping prevent serious illness and hospitalizations. Lastly, Dr. David Scrase said the virus may just be getting milder.

“I think we’re evolving toward a milder illness. So, if more people are getting COVID and they’re not sick and they’re not going to the hospital that’s actually a good thing. Even if we don’t know about it,” said Dr. David Scrase, NMDOH Secretary.

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Hospitalizations are hovering around 130, which is much lower than previous points in the pandemic. State health officials suggested the hospital rate could even be lower than we know due to the number of unreported cases and expansion of at-home testing.

“Our cases are based on reported cases to the state. So, we know this is less complete in the past and this is primarily due to changing testing practices. Namely, the increase in home-based testing,” said Dr. Ross.

Dr. Ross said vaccines get less effective over time which is why boosters are so important. She said national data shows people who are vaccinated and boosted are five times as likely to avoid getting hospitalized with COVID and 17-times less likely to die from the virus. State health officials maintain that vaccines and boosters are still the best tools to avoid serious illness from COVID.

When asked what it would take to bring back mask mandates, Dr. Scrase said those discussions aren’t even taking place anymore due to all the tools people have to available to protect themselves.

The state said it will continue to monitor case and hospital trends. It also said it has made big strides in wastewater surveillance testing.

What better way to enjoy summer than with music?

After a three-year hiatus, the New Mexico Jazz Workshop is proud to announce the 2022 Summer Series “Under the Stars” at the Albuquerque Museum Amphitheater.

“In addition to many of our local favorites that people come to expect every year we are bringing in internationally known saxophonist Eric Darius,” said Mia Maes, New Mexico Jazz Workshop executive director.

The series kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday, June 11, with “Women’s Voices: Jazz Meets the Beatles.”

” ‘Women’s Voices’ has been a tradition at the workshop as has ‘Lady Sings the Blues’ for many years,” Maes said. “All of our Saturday shows are curated performances, which essentially means we selected one musician or singer to choose a theme and then select music and musicians and vocalists for the performance.”

Following “Women’s Voices” is Son Como Son on June 17.

“Son Como Son is the most popular event as we have them playing twice a season and we have done that for a number of years,” Maes said. “They are just high energy excitement and people love their music and literally no one sits down it’s just dance, dance, dance.”

Son Como Son will have their encore performance on Aug. 5.

“I was at the Albuquerque Museum on their third Thursday, which is always a wonderful perk for Albuquerque residents,” Maes said. “You get to attend the museum at no cost and Son Como Son played that night and it was a packed house.”

At 7 p.m. June 24, Pedrito Martinez Group is performing in partnership with Outpost and the New Mexico Jazz Workshop.

“He originally is from Cuba and we were supposed to bring him in a few years ago, which of course, we were dark that season,” Maes said. “So we’re really excited about that show as well.”

Come out on July 23 for Swing Dance Night with Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra and Hillary Smith.

“You know who I really, really like is Hillary Smith,” Maes said. “She is popular, talented and she is singing with the Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra, which has also been an institution in Albuquerque for a number of years.”

Albuquerque locals will not want to miss this collaboration next month.

“She really connects with the audience and she sings to them it is as if each song was created just for you,” Maes said. “Even though there’s hundreds upon hundreds of people in the audience, she just personalizes it so much and you just feel like wow, that’s all it is for me.”

Concluding the summer series is Eric Darius on Aug. 6.

The New Mexico Jazz Workshop was founded in 1976 and expanded in the ’80s to bring in more national and international musicians.

“Last year was a limited number of shows, patrons all had to wear masks and we were not really able to fill the amphitheater to its capacity,” Maes said. “This year, we got a green light, as guests are not required to wear masks. We have a full 15 show lineup, which is on par with our last postseason, which was 2019. So three years later, we’re giving the people what they want.”

Albuquerque Journal and its reporters are committed to telling the stories of our community. • Do you have a question you want someone to try to answer for you? Do you have a bright spot you want to share? We want to hear from you. Please email [email protected]

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Warehouse 505, a youth organization that serves kids and teens by immersing them in creative arts, has been working to renovate a historic downtown building. However, on Sunday morning the northwest corner of the building was set on fire. “The damage is pretty extensive and it is going to be a setback for the organization,” said Thierry Gonzalez, the Executive Director of Warehouse 505.

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Gonzalez said they were lucky the fire did not reach the second floor of their new building at 202 Central Avenue SE. Warehouse 505, formerly known as Warehouse 508, caters to teens wanting to learn more about the arts and entertainment industries. The non-profit was started back in 2009. “One of our big things that we like to do with youth is that we like to do job force development with kids and train them and get them ready to take on jobs after the fact that they leave our organization,” said Gonzalez.

The organization is hoping the new facility will help them grow to provide more opportunities for kids in Albuquerque. They planned to move into their new facility by the Fall, but due to the current damage, they are set back.

“The biggest issue that we’re going to have right now is a time issue because of the fact that we’re already currently having issues getting contractors and laborers to come in here and help us with the current situation and now this happens it’s going to make it even worse.”

Warehouse 505 says they face financial burdens by not being able to move into their building right away. They are now asking for community help through a Go Fund Me account. “We’re going to keep moving forward and we’re going to get the doors open as soon as possible. Hopefully, we can get some support from the community and go from there.”

Gonzalez said Albuquerque Fire Department is looking into the cause of the fire. The organization is still unclear on the cost of the damages and is currently assessing those numbers now. They believe this will set them back 4 to 6 months.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It’s almost show time for downtown Albuquerque’s brand new comedy club.

Dry Heat Comedy Club is on track to officially open on June 23.

Sarah Kennedy and Kelli Trapnell are the women behind the new spot near 6^th and Central. They say the idea started with a podcast, which was created to figure out why Albuquerque doesn’t have a comedy club anymore. Kennedy interviewed performers, local business owners, and state representatives hoping someone would catch on.

“Originally, my plan was to have a very rich person, come and listen to that podcast, and then be like, ‘Oh, I’ll open it,’ and then just let that happen, and then that didn’t happen,” Kennedy said.

The women decided to do it themselves, under the impression it wouldn’t be too difficult.

“It turns out that opening a space is rather complicated,” Trapnell said.

The women leased the old yoga studio in mid-March and have been hard at work ever since. Some local comedians helped paint walls, hang lights and bring in some recovered stadium seats from Facebook Marketplace. They still have to build the stage, but say it will be designed specifically for standup comics.

Kennedy says they are excited to bring a new business to downtown Albuquerque, which she says it going through a state of change.

“Our [comedy] scene here in town needs a home for them to get to do their performance” she said. “And it’s better to have it be somebody who lives here, and even lives downtown, to do something in downtown for the people who live here too.”

Both women say the new spot will offer local talent a place to refine their acts and gain a following, but it will also give the community a place to laugh, together.

“It’s nice to just be able to sit in a dark room and laugh at people who are like, this is a wild situation,” Trapnell said. “You know, who have seen all the same news as you who have who are reacting to all the same, like massive world things, and laugh about how ridiculous it all is that, you know, everything is happening all at once.”

The first performances are scheduled for Thursday, June 23. The women say they have a full lineup of local comedians performing throughout the weekend. Kennedy is set to close out the first weekend with her own performance on Sunday.

Click here to buy tickets.

You have questions. I have some answers.

Q: I am writing to you in hopes that one of my favorite shows, “The Cleaning Lady,” will return. It ended abruptly. Please bring it back!

A: The Fox drama starring É lodie Yung did go for a cliffhanger ending – as so many shows do these days. But you should get some resolution next season, since Fox has ordered a second run.

Q: We thoroughly enjoyed the HBO Max series “Julia” and thought Sarah Lancashire was outstanding in the title role. Did the producers of “Julia” see her as a potential for this role possibly based on other work, or did she just go to a casting call and win the role?

A: Lancashire has such an impressive resume on stage and screen that Vanity Fair recently called her “the British acting treasure.” (Readers here may know her from the productions “Last Tango in Halifax” and “Happy Valley,” among others.) The makers of “Julia” had a long list of possible actors to play Julia Child – at one point Joan Cusack was planned – and Lancashire was on the list, sent the show’s pilot script and asked to audition. And she was so good, the show and the network concluded “It was Sarah or nothing,” showrunner Chris Keyser said. But it was Sarah, the show is really something, and a second season has been ordered.

Q: Can you tell me if Melissa Claire Egan, who plays Chelsea on “The Young and the Restless,” is related to the movie star Richard Egan, who starred in the movie “The Long Hot Summer” (I think)?

A: I have not found any mention of their being related. Nor have I found Richard Egan in the credits for “The Long Hot Summer.” He did have a string of other film credits including “The Kid from Left Field,” “Pollyanna” and “Seven Cities of Gold,” along with a lot of TV work. Melissa Claire Egan, by the way, is known not only for “Y&R” but an earlier run on “All My Children.”

Do you have a question or comment about entertainment past, present and future? Write to Rich Heldenfels, P.O. Box 417, Mogadore, OH 44260, or [email protected] Letters may be edited. Individual replies are not guaranteed.

Albuquerque Journal and its reporters are committed to telling the stories of our community. • Do you have a question you want someone to try to answer for you? Do you have a bright spot you want to share? We want to hear from you. Please email [email protected]